The Mzungu Boy - Hardcover

Mwangi, Meja

3.81

185 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888996535 ISBN 13: 9780888996534

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2005

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For Kariuki, life in a small village in Kenya is one great adventure. The best part of his day is the walk home from school, when he is free from both his bullying headmaster and his mother's long list of chores. The landscape around his village is beautifully wild, and Kariuki knows it well. One day Kariuki meets Nigel, a boy from England who has come to visit his grandfather, the fearsome Bwana Ruin, who owns the farm where the villagers work. The villagers call Nigel the mzungu boy (westerner), and view him with suspicion and fear; but not Kariuki.

One day the boys decide to hunt down the meanest warthog in the forest. The hunt takes them deeper into the jungle than Kariuki has ever gone, and all at once his beloved forest becomes a frightening place. Dangerous creatures live in the jungle, including the mau-mau, the men with guns who are plotting against Bwana Ruin and the white soldiers. And when Nigel suddenly disappears, will Kariuki be able to save his friend?

In this novel, the author captures a time of innocence, wild beauty, and the growing violence that eventually changed the entire structure of colonial Africa.

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About the Author:

MEJA MWANGI, the acclaimed author of “Going Down River Road”, "The Cockroach Dance" and “Kill Me Quick”, is an eclectic writer whose fascination with stories has created such varied works as “Bush Doctor”, “Crossroads”, “Carcase for Hounds”, “Rafiki” and “Christmas Without Tusker”.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6–A story set in Kenya during the early 1950s. As a concluding note explains, much of the land at this time was held by European settlers, and native Kenyans were relegated to working as tenant farmers under exploitative and demeaning conditions. Against this backdrop, the author created this story of a friendship between two boys, Nigel, white and British, grandson of a brutal landowner; and Kariuki, a black Kenyan whose father works as a cook for Nigel's grandfather. The boys fish, swim, explore, and hunt together as they forge a quick and strong bond. But they are also caught up in the more serious matters swirling around them–the brutality of the colonial system and the pervading sense of mistrust, fear, and danger that culminates in Nigel's and, later, Kariuki's capture by men who are organizing an uprising. The pace is quick, and the story is exciting, action-packed, and full of detail. Elements of foreboding and suspense are seamlessly woven into Kariuki's first-person narrative. This is a riveting tale that introduces the landscape, history, and culture of colonial Kenya.–Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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